Category Archives: Planning

Post navigation

This last Saturday, I had the pleasure of working a wedding at a super-chic, intimate venue in downtown Sacramento.

Don’t let its size fool you. Studio 817 is an incredible little event space for just about any type of event you might care to have.

From the outisde, it looks fairly plain, but once you enter into the space, you see it’s clearly divided into two discrete, usable spaces.

Right when you walk in, you enter into the main lobby area, which serves as the cocktail lounge for weddings, and which could serve any purpose, really, for any other type of event. There is ample seating around the outer walls, some tall cocktail tables, and a bar area all ready to go. For our event, they utilized their recommended vendor for bar-tending services – Randy Peters Catering, who always does a fantastic job all around.

Here in the lounge, I placed a single wireless speaker, to provide music and announcements for this room during cocktail hour.

After the ceremony, the guests were invited into the cocktail lounge for beverages while the staff turned over the main banquet room, staging the tables where the ceremony took place immediately before. This took no time at all, and looked great!

Once you turn right through a sliding barn door into the main banquet room, you initially see the ceremony area with chairs, an aisle, and an arbor. Perfect for small-to-medium ceremonies. The ceremony area in this setup is set off from the rest of the room, where the tables are sitting to be moved, by elegant white pipe and drape.

Once the ceremony was over, and the guests invited to the cocktail lounge, quick work was made of turning over the room. Down came the pipe and drape, and over came the tables for dining.

This opened up the dancefloor area, where I was set up along the back wall.

You will want to be sure that your DJ is familiar with the acoustics of the room, because the concrete and stucco walls, coupled with the high ceiling make for a real echo-chamber effect that could be problematic if your DJ doesn’t monitor their volume levels or have a firm grasp of proper microphone techniques and usage. This becomes crucial for the ceremony as well.

Though you can’t really see it from the picture to the right, the dancefloor area is really large, and has plenty of room. It is offset from the dining side of the room nicely, so that guests who want to hang out and relax can do so while others are dancing the night away!

A nice feature of this room are the two panel doors that slide up on the front wall, allowing the banquet room to open up into a nice, intimate closed patio just off the front of the building. This was wonderful once the sun went down and things started to cool down.

In all, Studio 817 is a fantastic little gem, nestled into Downtown Sacramento. The catering and sales manager Morgan is awesome to work with, and is attentive, and fun.

With plenty of versatility, and a nice public parking lot right off the back of the building, you really can’t go wrong with Studio 817.

Why do we do it, and where did it come from? The tossing of the bridal bouquet is a custom with roots in England. It was believed to be a way for the bride to pass along her good fortune to others. Bridal guests would try to tear away pieces of the bride’s clothing and flowers in order to obtain this fortune. In an attempt to get away from this tearing of her gown, the bride would toss her bouquet into the crowd. As tradition has it, the single lady who catches the bouquet has received the bride’s fortune and will be next in line to marry.

To toss, or not to toss?

For many modern brides, this is the question. No wedding tradition needs to be adhered to steadfastly, and you should never feel pressured to include anything you aren’t excited about in your wedding day. If a certain tradition has significance for you, or you just like it because it’s FUN, then include it in your celebration!

The bouquet toss is one of the traditional elements that is familiar to most of us.

Many contemporary brides love this tradition, and it’s almost always a high-energy focal-point when it is included. It’s becoming quite common though, for brides to either choose an alternative to the traditional bouquet toss, or to opt out of it altogether.

What else can we do?

Many things can be done instead of the traditional tossing of the bouquet. Here are just a few fun ideas:

Presentation. Present the bouquet to someone special. Work with your MC to include a short message letting folks know who you’re presenting your bouquet to, and why.

Your mom, mother-in-law, grandmother

Recently engaged friend

Someone celebrating a recent or near birthday, anniversary, etc.

Longest married couple

Your sister(s). Use multiple bouquets as-needed

Anyone, for any reason you like!

Alternatives. Instead of tossing a bouquet, you can toss other fun items instead.

Teddy Toss. If there are a good number of young children present, you can do a “Teddy Toss” instead. Have the children gather together in the usual formation, and toss a small-to-medium sized stuffed animal. This is a huge crowd favorite, and is a great way to include children in the celebration. Can be done in addition to the traditional bouquet toss as well!

Glow Sticks. Toss a home-made “bouquet” of glow sticks to be passed out by whoever catches it. Great way to get the party started on the dancefloor once the lights go down!

Song Suggestions

Want some fun song ideas for your bouquet toss? Here are the Top 50 most popular choices from the last year!

Understandably, you’ll want to spend time mingling, talking, and catching up with your guests in addition to dancing.

Keep in mind though that guests, and your wedding party, will tend to congregate around you during your reception. That’s not a bad thing. After all, it IS about YOU!

Just remember though… If the groom spends all night at the cigar bar (or just the BAR bar), where will all the guys be? And, wherever the bride goes, an entourage is sure to follow!

Staying in the action during your reception will keep the majority of your guests involved too! Of course that doesn’t mean you have to dance all night, but staying in the general area of the dance-floor will help make sure no one (especially you) misses all those great highlights and special moments on the floor!

Aside from the reasons mentioned, there are other reasons a reception shouldn’t go too long.

Every couple wants their wedding to be memorable, but we have to be sure the celebration is memorable for all the right reasons.

A professional DJ/MC will work with you to plan a timeline and an event flow that has a very distinct beginning, middle, and END that is memorable and powerful for as many of your guests as possible. A powerful, high-energy ending can’t be had if many or most of your guests have already decided to pack it in for the night.

Think about it… Do you want your guests to leave tired and sweaty on a high note, wanting more after a high energy ending, or do you want folks to trickle out over time, letting everything end with a fizzle?

When you think about it that way, partying “all through the night” at your reception might not sound as appealing as it once did.

Most local venues sell packages that go until 11pm or 12am. Because we’re making such a huge investment in the venue itself, there’s a huge temptation to use it all and try to keep the party going until the very last minute “because we paid for it.” But planning to end a bit earlier – an hour for example – can make all the difference in the world.

It’ll let your friends and family who have to help you clean up get done a bit sooner, and hey… It’ll give you a few minutes to change, breathe, and regroup before you have to head out to that AWESOME AFTER PARTY you’ve got scheduled!

How much is “long enough?”

Four hours is the optimal length for a wedding reception that includes a cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing. This also allows enough time for the traditional wedding elements like special dances, tosses, etc.

What can make it longer?

There are things that can make having a longer reception nice, ideal, or even necessary.

Certain ethnic and religious celebrations typically have longer wedding ceremonies and receptions that are structured differently, and that have different elements.

Other things that can make having 5 or even 6 hours necessary might include having a larger guest list – say 200 or more people – that will need to go through buffet service for dinner, and/or dinners that include more than one or two courses. More time will be needed for these situations, and others as well.

What’s the usual?

My clients average 5.5 hours of wedding day coverage for their wedding ceremony and reception.

This includes half-an-hour for Prelude music before the ceremony, half-an-hour for the ceremony itself, and 4 to 4.5 hours for the reception. This is the perfect length for a nicely-paced, smooth-flowing wedding celebration full of awesome memories!

A bride’s dance with her father is most often one of the most emotional highlights of any wedding reception. It is symbolic of so much, and finding the right song to represent your relationship and express those sentiments can be a challenge.

Fortunately, there are many songs that work wonderfully for these dances. Some of the most common and popular are listed below, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. See if any of them speak to you, and your relationship with the FIRST man in your life.

For a special bonus, scroll down to see the NEWEST great song that is PERFECT for this dance!

It’s not at all uncommon, because of a loss in the family, or simply because of family dynamics for example, for a bride to share a special spotlight dance with someone other than, or in addition to, her father.

Brothers, grandfathers, and stepfathers – all play very powerful roles in our lives, and all are wonderful candidates for relationships that can be acknowledged and celebrated with a spotlight dance. Many of the suggestions above will fit these types of relationships as well.

Just remember that there’s no limit to the number of important folks you can spotlight during your wedding day celebration, and the ways to include and spotlight them are endless as well.

If you’d like more ideas or suggestions, please let me know.

I’d love to help!

The Newest!

The songs above are all tried & true classics, but every now and then, a new song comes along that is perfect for sharing with your father.

Released in 2013, “Daddy Dance With Me” by Krystal Keith is JUST NOW starting to make it’s way into the wedding arena. If you’re looking for a beautiful track with a nice sentiment that will keep everyone on their toes and isn’t the same-ol’-same-ol’, this might be right up your alley! I ALWAYS get folks asking me who this is whenever I play it!

Every once in a while, a couple getting married might will communicate that they don’t want any “common” or “typical” “wedding songs” to be played at their wedding.

There are a few reasons a couple might say this, and for the most part, these reasons are understandable.

One of the most common reasons is that they’ve experienced first-hand, maybe even many times, an over-reliance on certain songs by less-experienced (or simply LAZY) DJs who play the same tired, predictable fare at every wedding they do. These DJs don’t take the time or effort to learn about the preferences and tastes of their clients, and they don’t take the time, or simply don’t have the skill needed, to “read” the dance floor and program music creatively.

The result can be a rather lackluster and somewhat impersonal experience for the couple and their guests. It can also lead to more folks in the room rolling their eyes at each new song than there are people dancing to them!

The second most common reason is that couples want to be sure they infuse their celebration with their own unique personalities. Of course, on their big day, they want to hear certain artists and songs they know, like, and even love. Of COURSE this should be a goal for EVERY wedding!

Sometimes, though, as they try to avoid what they see as “cliches,” or as they try to make their wedding “unique,” they inadvertently swing too far from one extreme to another.

Quite often, this results in reduced potential for enjoyment by many guests, and can be detrimental to the experience of everyone.

Before I go any further, I’d like to share a true story from quite a few years back when I worked in landscape contracting & design. Trust me… it’ll all come together and make sense in the end.

We did a landscape design for a couple that was pretty well off, and had a pretty impressive budget for their landscape design & installation. As it came time in their design process to select plants, they decided they wanted to replace “a few” of the choices made by our designer in favor of some “different” selections. They even said “I don’t want my yard to look like every other yard, and I don’t want to see those same plants that I see at every house, and on every street corner.”

We didn’t have a problem with that, and in fact we encouraged them to make some alternative selections. When it was all said and done though, they made more than a couple or even a few selections, and replaced almost half of the original list with hard-to-find, special-order, and somewhat exotic plants. They did TONS of research on these plants, and spent a pretty penny to get all of them. We made suggestions along the way when we thought there might be issues with certain plants, but in the end, the final decisions were theirs.

Within about a month or so of finishing the installation, their expensive, hard-to-find, and special order plants started dying on them. They just couldn’t take the heat and conditions in this area at that time of the year. We replaced several of them in accordance with our warranty policy, but as more and more plants started to die, even the ones we brought in as replacements, we finally had to draw the line and let them know we wouldn’t be replacing any more plants for them free of charge.

The clients weren’t happy about this, but after we explained our reasons, they understood, and we made some replacements with some of the more common plants the designer originally included in the design.

What did we have to explain to them?

We basically said that yes… you DO tend to see a lot of common plants used in landscaping in any given area (not just ours). Those plants are used for a reason. They are used because they are hardy, attractive, and flourish in the conditions we live in. Sure, we can try to get more exotic, and in some cases, we can pick alternatives that will do just fine. But at the end of the day, we’re still going to be left with some plants that everyone is used to seeing and planting. And that’s OKAY, because those plants WORK.

The same goes for many, many songs! There are a lot of songs that work very well for older guests and family that tend to be at weddings. Then, there are tons of songs that work exceptionally well across all generations young AND old alike at family-oriented events.

Not everyone is a natural-born dancer, and not everyone is necessarily comfortable dancing. A great many people, young and old, will only dance to what they KNOW and recognize. If our goal is to provide an atmosphere that is as conducive to as many people dancing as possible, and if we want to make the environment inviting and welcoming for them, we need to take these bits of “dance floor psychology” into consideration.

This isn’t to say, however, that we should focus on playing only, or even mostly, “those songs.” BUT… if our goal is to provide for the enjoyment of as many guests as possible, and if we want to make the environment as inviting as we can so everyone can participate in the festivities, then our primary goal should be to strike and maintain a balance.

That balance we should strive for is the balance between the “cliche” and the “cool.” Between the “predictable” (instead think “recognizable”) and the “unique.”

If you’re working with a professional DJ provider, they will excel at helping you find and maintain that exact balance! Their experience and ability to read a crowd will find a natural balance with your tastes and goals, while helping everyone have the best time possible!

We just need to be mindful of the lesson learned in our plant story. We shouldn’t be so determined to get away from one extreme, that we swing too far to the other. We also shouldn’t lose sight of WHY certain recognizable songs are in fact common, and why they are so successful and widely used to begin with.

While we want to personalize our wedding day, putting our own unique stamp on it in every way, we also need to remember that while our wedding day is “about” us, our reception is FOR our guests. It’s a way for us to thank everyone for being a part of our special day!

Realizing this, our shared, common goal should be striking a balance that ensures ALL of our guests feel as welcome, and included as possible.

GIVE me your “Must Play” songs. I give you a form for them! Give me your “DO-NOT-PLAY” songs. I give you a form for that too!

Together, and working with these lists and parameters YOU choose, we’ll work to make sure your wedding day is as enjoyable for you and all your guests as it can possibly be.

It’s okay to “just say no” to certain songs. It IS your day. Just don’t be too quick to axe everything before the party even starts.

Songs are the tools your DJ uses to achieve their results. While we want to be sure that we put our own stamp on our event, and while we should set some parameters based on our tastes, we need to be sure we aren’t taking too many tools out of our DJ’s toolbox. When we do, we run the risk of artificially limiting the enjoyment of our guests because they can’t hear some songs they enjoy, and would like to dance to.

Besides… When it comes right down to it, you’d be surprised what songs you might find YOURSELF having a GREAT TIME dancing to! It’s really easy to write a song off as “cheesy” on a piece of paper. But it’s WAAAAAAYYY harder to resist the energy of that same song drawing you to the dance floor when everyone else in the room is GOING CRAZY for it!

A bride’s dance with her father is most often one of the emotional highlights of any wedding reception. It is symbolic of so many things between them, and to each other, and finding the right song to represent their relationship and express those sentiments can be a challenge.

Fortunately, there are many songs that work wonderfully for these dances. Some of the most common and popular are listed below, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. See if any of them speak to you, and your relationship with the (first) man in your life.

It’s not at all uncommon, be it because of a loss in the family, or simply because of family dynamics, for a bride to share a special spotlight dance with someone other than, or in addition to, her father.

Brothers, grandfathers, and stepfathers – all play very powerful roles in our lives, and all are wonderful candidates for relationships that can be acknowledged and celebrated with a spotlight dance. Many of the suggestions above will fit these types of relationships as well.

Just remember that there’s no limit to the number of important folks you can spotlight during your wedding day celebration, and the ways to include and spotlight them are endless as well.

For many modern brides, this is the question. No wedding tradition needs to be adhered to steadfastly, and you should never feel pressured to include anything you aren’t excited about in your wedding day. If a certain tradition has significance for you, or you just like it because it’s FUN, then include it in your celebration!

The bouquet toss is one of the traditional elements that is familiar to most of us.

Many contemporary brides love this tradition, and it’s almost always a high-energy focal-point when it is included. It’s becoming quite common though, for brides to either choose an alternative to the traditional bouquet toss, or to opt out of it altogether.

First, some history

Why do we do it, and where did it come from? The tossing of the bridal bouquet is a custom with roots in England. It was believed to be a way for the bride to pass along her good fortune to others. Bridal guests would try to tear away pieces of the bride’s clothing and flowers in order to obtain this fortune. In an attempt to get away from this tearing of her gown, the bride would toss her bouquet into the crowd. As tradition has it, the single lady who catches the bouquet has received the bride’s fortune and will be next in line to marry.

What else can we do?

Many things can be done instead of the traditional tossing of the bouquet. Here are just a few fun ideas:

Presentation. Present the bouquet to someone special. Work with your MC to include a short message letting folks know who you’re presenting your bouquet to, and why.

Your mom, mother-in-law, grandmother

Recently engaged friend

Someone celebrating a recent or near birthday, anniversary, etc.

Longest married couple

Your sister(s). Use multiple bouquets as-needed

Anyone, for any reason you like!

Alternatives. Instead of tossing a bouquet, you can toss other fun items instead.

Teddy Toss. If there are a good number of young children present, you can do a “Teddy Toss” instead. Have the children gather together in the usual formation, and toss a small-to-medium sized stuffed animal. This is a huge crowd favorite, and is a great way to include children in the celebration. Can be done in addition to the traditional bouquet toss as well!

Glow Sticks. Toss a home-made “bouquet” of glow sticks to be passed out by whoever catches it. Great way to get the party started on the dancefloor once the lights go down!

Song Suggestions

Want some fun song ideas for your bouquet toss? Here are the Top 50 choices from 2013!

1

Beyonce

Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

2

Lauper, Cyndi

Girls Just Want To Have Fun

3

Guetta, David Feat. Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj

Where Them Girls At

4

Weather Girls

It’s Raining Men

5

Benatar, Pat

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

6

Twain, Shania

Man! I Feel Like A Woman!

7

Little Big Town

Little White Church

8

Ludacris Feat. Mystikal

Move B***H

9

Spice Girls

Wannabe

10

Beyonce

Run The World (Girls)

11

Furtado, Nelly

Maneater

12

Buble, Michael

Haven’t Met You Yet

13

Kool & The Gang

Ladies Night

14

No Doubt

Just A Girl

15

Blondie

One Way Or Another

16

Kelis

Milkshake

17

Jepsen, Carly Rae

Call Me Maybe

18

Beastie Boys

Girls

19

Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya & Pink, Christina

Lady Marmalade

20

Jackson, Michael

P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

21

Queen

Another One Bites The Dust

22

Orbison, Roy

Oh, Pretty Woman

23

Rihanna

Only Girl (In The World)

24

Bryan, Luke

Country Girl (Shake It For Me)

25

Mcbride, Martina

This One’s For The Girls

26

Survivor

Eye Of The Tiger

27

Beastie Boys

Hey Ladies

28

Stefani, Gwen

Hollaback Girl

29

Destiny’s Child

Independent Women Part 1

30

West, Kanye Feat. Jamie Foxx

Gold Digger

31

Fergie

Clumsy

32

Hilson, Keri

Pretty Girl Rock

33

Valentine, Brooke Feat. Big Boi & Lil’ Jon

Girlfight

34

Jones, Tom

She’s A Lady

35

Motley Crue

Girls, Girls, Girls

36

Springfield, Dusty

Wishin’ And Hopin’

37

Hendrix, Jimi

Foxey Lady

38

Mars, Bruno

Marry You

39

Ross, Diana & The Supremes

You Can’t Hurry Love

40

Benatar, Pat

Love Is A Battlefield

41

Keys, Alicia

Girl On Fire

42

Perry, Katy

California Gurls

43

702

Where My Girls At?

44

Beyonce

Diva

45

Beyonce

Love On Top

46

Fergie Feat. Ludacris

Glamorous

47

Gomez, Selena

Come & Get It

48

Def Leppard

Pour Some Sugar On Me

49

Dixie Cups

Chapel Of Love

50

Kravitz, Lenny

American Woman

Whatever you decide…

Your DJ/MC should be able to help you pull off a smooth-flowing, and high-energy celebration, and they should be more than happy to provide you with a lot of info like this for every aspect of your wedding day. They should have plenty of great ideas about options and alternatives as well.If the DJs you’re talking to don’t seem to have this type of knowledge, experience, or info for you, keep looking until you find one that DOES.

When you work with Sounds To Go, you get no shortage of song suggestions for every part of your wedding day celebration.

Sometimes choosing the First Dance song that speaks best to the two of you is tricky, especially if you want it done in a way that isn’t overly common or expected. If your selection is in a musical style or genre you like to listen to yourself, even better!

Here on DreamWedding.com are some great, contemporary selections that are somewhat off-the-beaten-path.

My husband and I had Justin as our DJ for our March wedding. From the beginning, we were completely impressed by his professionalism and thoroughness. He always replied to any emails or questions I had promptly and was extremely flexible. He was super organized and met with us to go over our plans and ideas for our wedding to make sure every detail was thought of, down to every last thing that we wouldn’t have even thought of. We had several special requests for him, like our entrance song and dance and every time I threw a new idea at him he made it happen. It was so nice to not have to worry about anything at all. He came early to the reception location to set up and practice coordinating lights and sounds with the lights guy. The whole night was flawless. He kept everything on track and played the perfect selection of songs to appeal to us and our guests. Some DJs tend to like the microphone too much, but with Justin it was the perfect amount of mcing. Seriously recommend Sounds To Go for your wedding!! You will be very pleased!!